The Scott-Clark Family: Two weeks of sports... so much sports!

So I've just looked back and my last post was on 26 July, which I shouldn't really be that surprised about because we have been busy this past month, but it's gone by so fast I can't really believe that August is already over!

The day after my last post, Rob and joined good friends and played the drinking game linked above while watching more than three hours of the Opening Ceremonies which was arguably some of the best television I have ever seen! If you have not watched it... DO, you won't regret it and you'll laugh and cry, an emotional roller coaster. I have watched it sober and drunk and my emotions have been the same both times, what a fantastic evening. Oh and I almost forgot... the food, Gillian, our friend hosting the ceremony party cooked up some of the best ribs I've had in a long time, shame I don't have any photos. Well done, Gillian!

So that kicked it off for us, London was in full Olympic force and Rob and I were hooked! I don't remember watching anything on TV but sports. For the next two weeks I'd wake up and get updates on my phone of the things I missed from the day before, then I streamed it live at work and I'd race home listening to it on the radio before coming home and watching it on the TV. I didn't miss anything in the pool and I think I saw all the track, along with a lot of basketball, rowing, cycling and hockey.

But that is just what we watched on TV. Rob and I, as some of you may know, did very well with tickets! We got to see some live swimming, ping-pong, diving, hockey and track. Everything was prelims except for our track tickets, where we were at the last night and watched Mo Farah win the 5,000 meters and the Jamaicans win the 4x100 men's relay (Bolt and Blake)! What a show!

Phelps' heat of the 100 fly, 4th from the top

Our first event was heats in the pool where we saw Phelps swim the 100 Fly, Adlington swim the 800 Free, and Missy Franklin swim the 100 Back. Even for the heats people were going crazy! When Adlington swam the 800 the arena shook with cheers, you could feel the excitement in your chest and this was only the heats! Then Phelps came up for the 100 fly and it was amazing how much of a presence he had. We were so high up and the pool looked very tiny from our seats but you could tell immediately when Phelps was on deck, not just from the cheering but from the way he walked and how he carried himself... very noticeable.

The next day we were at the hockey, where we saw Germany win against India and Great Britain beat Pakistan. The hockey arena had a completely different feel to the swimming, it was outside on a sunny day and we were seeing the home team play in a team sport. The crowd was excited and the cheering was immense! Rob and I even got into the spirit by sporting lovely Team GB gear for the game. That night we stayed in the Olympic Park quite late and watched Chris Hoy win his first gold of the Olympics in the Veladrome, Jessica Ennis put herself in gold-medal position before the final night of the Hepathlon, and Phelps win his record breaking 20th Gold medal! It was a great night, unbelievable how well Team GB did and so much fun to support a winning hockey team!

During the Team GB warm up for hockey
with our matching Team GB sweatbands

The next day we got up early to see some ping-pong. Unfortunately it was not in the Olympic Park but at the Excel Centre just south of the Park but the atmosphere still felt very lively. The venue felt like it was very much a part of the Olympics and the event was much more enjoyable than I imagined.

We saw the first round of the men's team play. We watched a grudge match between PRK and South Korea and between China and Russia. It was amazing how much you could see what was going on, even though it was ping-pong I was needlessly worried we'd be too far to tell what was what, not a problem at all. The venue was small but it was a packed house and everyone was really into it. We ended up having to leave a bit early as we had to make our next event at the Olympic Park, the semi-finals of the women's 3m spring board diving. It was a shame to leave the ping-pong early, we were quite interested, but I was so glad we didn't miss the diving.

PRK vs South Korea ping-pong

Our seats were on the opposite side of the diving well which meant we were quite far away but we were able to see the entire dive from a front-on angle which was very interesting. I knew a bit more about diving than Rob and he was able to get a bit of a lesson on the day. However, you didn't have to know anything to see how amazing the Chinese divers were. Simply unbelievable! We watched them take 1 and 2 going into the final but we also saw some excellent Australians qualify (nice for Rob). There were two Team GB divers going for the final who unfortunately didn't make it but the crowd was behind them and once again I could feel the cheering in the pit of me, such an experience. The US did well and I got to see both qualify though I don't think they went on to win anything.

Warm ups for the women's
3m springboard semifinals

Once the diving was over we had spent three straight days in the Olympic Park and were thoroughly exhausted! The Olympic Park itself was an experience, the volunteers were out in full force and were constantly cheering the spectators on! They were friendly and helpful at all stages of the visit, they made the games feel truly special.

The Park is beautiful, there are wildflower fields with lovely paths all over. There was plenty of exhibitions to see, even if you didn't have tickets and lots of great food. The only major disappointment for me was the shopping. Most of the Olympic gear wasn't to my taste and in the end the only thing Rob and I were really drawn towards were the sweatbands... c'est la vie, our biggest souvenir will be our tickets, they are lovely!

The main feature of the Olympic Park was the Park Live section sponsored by BA. In the middle of the park they had two pristine lawns on the banks of the river that cuts through the whole park. Floating on a dock in the river was a gigantic screen where all the Olympic highlights were shown live all day and where they had presenters interviewing athletes and getting the crowd excited. Volunteer 'hosts' walked around the Park Live lawns offering free plastic Union Jack mats to sit on, sunscreen, hand sanitizer and anything else you could imagine that you would need. It was a great place to relax before and after your events and because you could bring your own food into the park it meant that people could picnic and enjoy the events without having to spend lots of money on pricy food. A great day out for sure!

After we had a week of rest from the Park (though we kept up watching everything on the 24hr non-stop BBC coverage) we headed back for a final night and one we were looking forward to, the last night of the Athletics in the Olympic Stadium. All the days we spent in the park we kept hearing amazing cheers coming from the Olympic Stadium but could never get in! This was our night and we we're excited.

Javelin at the top, high jump at the bottom

We arrived very early and took a long walk around the stadium, which I love. Each section is marked with coloured glass that goes like a circular rainbow around the whole building. Inside it was amazing... I don't think there is a bad seat in the whole stadium. We were seated in the penultimate row, probably the lowest priced seats but we were placed to see everything very well. We were facing the high jump and throughout the night watched the women's high jump final. Simultaneously we had the men's javelin final throwing directly at us. Both events were very interesting and super impressive. I loved clapping to the beat set by the high jumpers and watching them run up... such a fun time.

So that was all the field events we saw, then we started getting into the track events, after about 4 medal ceremonies celebrating Russian wins... we heard a lot of the Russian National Anthem. We got to see the final of the women's 800meters, the women's 4x400 relay, the men's 5000 and men's 4x100 relay. They are all a bit of a blur for me; the atmosphere and excitement was overwhelming and I think when Mo Farah won I may have cried. That race lasted 13 minutes and I shouted the entire time, I don't think I have ever wanted anyone to win anything more than I wanted him to win at that moment. Here is a bit of glimpse....

Next we watched the US women crush it in the 4x400 and I got to hear my anthem... finally! Then the women's 800 where a Russian beat the reigning South African champ and we heard the Russian anthem yet again (it was a good night for them).

Finally the Jamaicans! We were placed a the curve for the third and fourth runner hand-off for the 4x100 relay so we saw the Jamaican hand-off between Blake and Bolt when they made their move and left the US men in the dust smashing the World Record. It was unbelievable what a night... WOW!

Bolt waiting for the hand-off during the
4x100; fourth from the right.

Here are some photos of the entire experience... sorry this is so long but two weeks can fit a lot of sports and Rob and I are true Olympic spectator champs!